Name: Jesper Lindell
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current Release: Jesper Lindell's Before the Sun is out via Brunnsvik Sounds.
Recommendations: Since I still meet people who don’t know of The Band yet I’d like recommend their self titled second album which to me is a 10/10.
And I’d like to recommend Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of the flower moon. It’s great, and Robert De Niro is fantastic in it.

If you enjoyed this Jesper Lindell interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.  
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Well I’m a bit of a quiet guy so I think it’s become a way for me to get some things off my mind, a sort of therapy I guess. And all those things that you mentioned inspire me greatly. I just like to live life and write about whatever is in it.

But my songs almost always have some connection to what’s going on in my personal life even though the story might seem like it’s about something completely different.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

No, I don’t really need concrete ideas to get started. Sometimes I can just sit down with a guitar and find some chords that seem interesting and the words will come after.

Sometimes I have a few phrases of words that I like and will build a song around. And sometimes I have a concrete idea that I really want to write about. It’s always different.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Well, for some reason, I have to have a clean room when I’m writing. It’s almost like if the room is messy, the song will be messy.

When I’m getting close to finishing a song, I usually record a demo on my phone and listen back for a day or two and then I’ll go back and tweak some words or phrases.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Like I said earlier it’s always different when I start writing. It might be the lyrics that comes first or it might be the music. There’s no one way about it.

But when it comes to Duffie's quote I think that you create the idea by living your life and making the choices that you do. I think by saying that you discover a song you’re selling yourself short. And it also leaves you without any accountability.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Great lyrics to me are when you can sort of visualize a movie or a scene in your head from just listening to it. And the music is there to help evoke the emotion that you try to get across.

And great lyrics can be about anything I think. From small mundane things like John Prine’s “Souvenirs” ...



... to great political pieces such as Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane.“



My ambitions right now is to try and write compelling stories maybe more in the style of John Prine than Bob Dylan at the moment.

But it’s a real hard thing to do what he did so I’m just trying to practice a lot to so that I can get it right one day.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Well I guess I fall somewhere in between those two places.

I don’t think being strict in anyway would help my writing but I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s out of my hands past a certain point.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I can get why people feel like it’s a spiritual thing being in that state of creativity when words and melodies just seem to flow through you. It’s a great feeling.

But I think there are ways to get there on your own terms not just once in a while when the moon is in just the right place with mercury.. You just have to be really open to your feelings and not be scared of the outcome.

When you're in the studio to record a piece, how important is the actual performance and the moment of performing the song still in an age where so much can be “done and fixed in post?“

To me that’s the most important thing while recording. I never want to fix anything in post. We try and record as much as possible live.

Because what I really like about recording is that it’s a moment in time captured, when a few people got together and made something out of nothing. And it wouldn’t be the same if any component of that group was changed.

And if it’s a great take but someone made a little mistake I’d rather leave it in than fix it later.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

I really need some time away from the work after we have recorded it before I start mixing. The only times I’ve been really unhappy with something I’ve done is when I’ve had to mix it right after the actual recording.

And as I said I don’t t really fix any mistakes after it’s recorded. And I’m pretty good at calling things good. And not trying out every setting of reverb or compression that is possible. If I like it I like it.

With that said I’m also always trying to learn new things so sometimes it can take a little longer because I want to get to know some new techniques or gear.

Even recording a solo song is usually a collaborative process. Tell me about the importance of trust between the participants, personal relationships between musicians and engineers and the freedom to perform and try things – rather than gear, technique or “chops” - for creating a great song.

I rely heavily on my band mates and my co producer and co engineer to do these records. And I let them do their own thing as much as I possibly can without interfering.

Because I’ve surrounded myself with great musicians and people that also happen to be my best friends. And I want each of them to shine through in the final product.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?  

I think production and mixing sure can help to get the feeling of a song across and sometimes make it better.

But in the end of the day a good song is a good song whether it’s recorded on a phone or in a million dollar studio.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

No I don’t really relate to that at all. I always have something new that I want to do.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I don’t think that if we’re talking about the end result, a cup of coffee and a song, are that different. You can enjoy a cup of coffee just as you can enjoy a song. And a song might make the coffee taste better and a cup of coffee might make a song sound better..

And I’m sure someone can make some witty analogy about how the making of the two are similar as well but I don’t think so really.

You can express life in a song. All of it. I wouldn’t try to do that with a cup of coffee.